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Sunday, August 16, 2009

Once again I am late to the party, but Randy's challenge this week is one that I really want to answer. Over at Genea-Musings, Randy asks:

What is your UGG - your "Ultimate Genealogy Goal" for the genealogy research that you wish to leave to your heirs, descendants and the genealogy community?

How long do you think you have have left to fulfill this ultimate goal?

Are you prioritizing your time adequately in order to achieve this goal?

If not, what should you do to achieve the goal?

Will you do what you need to do?

Wow - that's a lot of important things to consider. So, taking a deep breath I'll start at the top.

What is your UGG - your "Ultimate Genealogy Goal" for the genealogy research that you wish to leave to your heirs, descendants and the genealogy community?

I have to admit that I've never thought about my "UGG". That might be why I have an as yet undocumented by the medical profession condition know as GADD - Genealogical Attention Deficit Disorder. This condition is marked by the tendency to flit from one "shiny object" to another - one minute ordering a copy of an English wedding certificate because, hey, I just got an e-mail from Ancestry telling me how and the next minute wandering over to the Maryland Archives site because, really, I MUST figure out what I know and don't know about my QUICK line, and then being seduced by a new link someone tweeted about Scotland...well, you get the picture.

I have always enjoyed pictures and stories about "long ago". It just seemed natural to focus on stories about my family. Genealogy is about the thrill of finding that next elusive piece of a fascinating puzzle. That's just for me and for now however. In thinking about what I wish to leave behind I realized that the main thing, or my UGG, would be to have shared my knowledge in such a way that (1) my nieces and nephew are interested and at least conversant with their family history and (2) all the important one-of-a-kind items I have are treasured and passed down with full knowledge about where they came from.

How long do you think you have have left to fulfill this ultimate goal?

Given that I am 50 and my almost 75 year old parents are just getting ready to leave to go hiking in Yellowstone (again) I'm going to be very conservative and say that I have at least 25 good years. My concern though would be if I got hit by the proverbial bus tomorrow - then what??

Are you prioritizing your time adequately in order to achieve this goal?

Nope, certainly not at this point.

If not, what should you do to achieve the goal?

Once I realized what my goal was, it was much easier to figure out how to achieve it! Oddly enough the main thing I should be doing it not trying to move back just one more generation in any given line. The main thing I should be doing is presenting my family history is a way that would capture the attention of my nieces and nephew. I know that they enjoy the stories and to that end I've worked, rather sporadically, on two books through Ancestry.com's My Canvas application - one for my father's family and one for my mother's. I have so many pictures to include and I know that the kids would have fun reading the stories.

While these are not the rigorously sourced and documented genealogies that many people want to (or have!) produced, these family stories are what I believe would capture the interest of the next generation. Now all that does not mean that I don't always try to adequately source my information. It just means that if I truly want to pass this along to another generation within my family I need something beyond that.

Will you do what you need to do?

I hope so. Now that, with Randy's help, I am more clear in my thinking about what I want to do. Also, this year was my first year to really concentrate on my genealogy. Oh, don't get me wrong, I've played at it for years and years (and years!) But this year was to be the starting point of my serious genealogy pursuit. And let me tell you - it has been eye-opening! There is just SO much information out there that I've been like a kid in a candy store just "GADDing" from one thing to the next.

The good new is that it is only mid-August. If I put together a plan to make finishing at least one of my "family story books" by Christmas a top priority, I'll bet I can do it!

8 comments:

Diane,I like your goal. It's why I tend to post stories I've found about my ancestors to my blogmore than any other information. I'm hoping they will spark interest in our family history among the younger members of my family.

Finally.....a diagnosis! At least now I know it has a name. LOL. I'm hoping the flitting from one "shiny object" to the next will end. I just switched to RM4 and intend to make use of the "to do" list function which will hopefully help me focus and figure out where I'm lacking.